Upcoming Conferences Press Announcement

PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT

For Immediate Release

January 28, 2004

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, LAWN CARE/PESTICIDE COMPANIES, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES JOIN TOGETHER TO EDUCATE CONSUMERS

On March 14-17, 2004 in San Antonio, Texas an unlikely coalition of business, government, and environmental groups are coming together to adopt a common set of “environmental guidelines for responsible lawn care and landscaping.” While in San Antonio they will decide how best to educate the consumer on the proper use of pesticides and fertilizers, how to conserve water and how to protect wildlife while maintaining a healthy and attractive home landscape.

The San Antonio conference, “Environmental Lawn Care and Landscaping: Reaching the Consumer” is being organized by the “Lawns & Environment” coalition (L&E) under the auspices of the Center for Resource Management (CRM).

L&E is a voluntary coalition of lawn care/landscaping industry organizations, environmental groups and government agencies who are involved in residential landscaping issues. The coalition includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, The Scotts Company, TORO Company, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Professional Lawn Care Association of America, Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE), San Antonio Water System, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, Businesses for the Bay/Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and Agronomy and Horticulture Services. The coalition has developed a common set of environmental guidelines for responsible lawn care and landscaping that will be presented in the conference.

The Scotts Company is a founding member and gold sponsor of L&E and is active in coalition activities. Chris Schmenk, Director of Environmental Stewardship of Scotts said, “Scotts is pleased to join with other leading organizations in a common effort to educate consumers about best management practices of responsible lawn care and landscaping. We support the consensus building approach demonstrated by the Lawns & the Environment Initiative.”

The Scotts Company, headquartered in Ohio since 1868, is the world’s leading marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products with a full range of products for professional horticulture as well. As the lawn and garden experts, the company educates consumers who choose their products, whether online, through the customer hotline or their popular series of books.

The National Audubon Society is also a founding member of the “Lawns & Environment Initiative” and active participant in the project steering committee. Tess Present, Senior Scientist for Ecology and Conservation and former director of the “Audubon at Home” program said, “The National Audubon Society is working to help people protect birds and other wildlife and to maintain healthy yards. We are happy to join with other organizations who support these goals and want to do a better job of educating the consumer about responsible lawn care and landscaping practices.” Audubon’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.

The San Antonio conference will include speakers and presentations from organizations that are involved in these issues and public outreach programs from across the country. Conference participants will have opportunities throughout the three-day meeting to voice their opinions and provide recommendations concerning the proposed environmental guidelines and how best to educate and motivate consumers to adopt these practices in their home yards and landscapes. The conference is open to individuals and organizations who are active in lawn care and landscaping activities and their associated environmental issues.

For more information about the “Lawns and Environment Initiative” and how to participate in the San Antonio conference contact:

Paul Parker or Nancy Nelson

Center for Resource Management

1104 East Ashton Avenue #210

Salt Lake City UT 84106

801/466-3600

pparkercrm@msn.com

nnelsoncrm@mns.com

The Center for Resource Management is a national non-profit organization that leads the “Lawns and the Environment Initiative”. CRM has over 20 years of experience in fostering and guiding environmental collaboration, consensus building, and policy development involving the business community, environmental groups, science and government. CRM acts as a catalyst and facilitator in bringing different and often conflicting interests together to define the common ground in environmental problem solving. For more information on CRM go to www.crm.org.




		PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT For Immediate Release January 28, 2004 ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, LAWN CARE/PESTICIDE COMPANIES, AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES JOIN TOGETHER TO EDUCATE CONSUMERS On March 14-17, 2004 in San Antonio, Texas an unlikely coalition of business, government, and environmental groups are coming together to adopt a common set of “environmental guidelines for responsible lawn care and landscaping.” While in San Antonio they will decide how best to educate the consumer on the proper use of pesticides and fertilizers, how to conserve water and how to protect wildlife while maintaining a healthy and attractive home landscape. The San Antonio conference, “Environmental Lawn Care and Landscaping: Reaching the Consumer” is being organized by the “Lawns & Environment” coalition (L&E) under the auspices of the Center for Resource Management (CRM). L&E is a voluntary coalition of lawn care/landscaping industry organizations, environmental groups and government agencies who are involved in residential landscaping issues. The coalition includes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, The Scotts Company, TORO Company, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Professional Lawn Care Association of America, Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE), San Antonio Water System, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, Businesses for the Bay/Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and Agronomy and Horticulture Services. The coalition has developed a common set of environmental guidelines for responsible lawn care and landscaping that will be presented in the conference. The Scotts Company is a founding member and gold sponsor of L&E and is active in coalition activities. Chris Schmenk, Director of Environmental Stewardship of Scotts said, “Scotts is pleased to join with other leading organizations in a common effort to educate consumers about best management practices of responsible lawn care and landscaping. We support the consensus building approach demonstrated by the Lawns & the Environment Initiative.” The Scotts Company, headquartered in Ohio since 1868, is the world’s leading marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products with a full range of products for professional horticulture as well. As the lawn and garden experts, the company educates consumers who choose their products, whether online, through the customer hotline or their popular series of books. The National Audubon Society is also a founding member of the “Lawns & Environment Initiative” and active participant in the project steering committee. Tess Present, Senior Scientist for Ecology and Conservation and former director of the “Audubon at Home” program said, “The National Audubon Society is working to help people protect birds and other wildlife and to maintain healthy yards. We are happy to join with other organizations who support these goals and want to do a better job of educating the consumer about responsible lawn care and landscaping practices.” Audubon’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity. The San Antonio conference will include speakers and presentations from organizations that are involved in these issues and public outreach programs from across the country. Conference participants will have opportunities throughout the three-day meeting to voice their opinions and provide recommendations concerning the proposed environmental guidelines and how best to educate and motivate consumers to adopt these practices in their home yards and landscapes. The conference is open to individuals and organizations who are active in lawn care and landscaping activities and their associated environmental issues. For more information about the “Lawns and Environment Initiative” and how to participate in the San Antonio conference contact: Paul Parker or Nancy Nelson Center for Resource Management 1104 East Ashton Avenue #210 Salt Lake City UT 84106 801/466-3600 pparkercrm@msn.com nnelsoncrm@mns.com The Center for Resource Management is a national non-profit organization that leads the “Lawns and the Environment Initiative”. CRM has over 20 years of experience in fostering and guiding environmental collaboration, consensus building, and policy development involving the business community, environmental groups, science and government. CRM acts as a catalyst and facilitator in bringing different and often conflicting interests together to define the common ground in environmental problem solving. For more information on CRM go to www.crm.org.